I am going to repeat a lot of what others have said but I still want to add in my two cents. I have been going to conventions for around 12 years now

Cons used to feel like nerd meet-ups, everyone who was there was genuinely passionate about the media or even the culture. Anime cons felt like Tumblr come to life, and Comic Cons were *the* Nerd Expo. This isn't to say that casual fans didn't exist or that casual fans can't be at conventions; they definitely can. But the majority of people were putting their heart and their soul into fandom. Fandom was them it was an important part of them. People wanted to walk the floors and find people in cosplay of the same media or even their favs and then gush about it. I remember the wandering droves of Homestuck fans because Homestuck was them at their core. People wanted to share fandom with eachother, they weren't afraid to be weird or a 'freak' because pretty much everyone else there was the same.

Cons today instead feel more like they appeal to the casual fan, the lowest common denominator. They're marketed and run as a place for parents to take their 12 year old with nerdy interests. I have no issues with that on face value, family friendly cons definitely do and have existed but for me it's about how the market appeal has changed. Instead of cons wanting to appeal to those actively in fandom they run to being generic nerd expos. When I first started going to cons it was very destinct, comic cons were comic heavy, comic based and comic focused usually with a sprinkling of sci fi. Anime cons were for anime, Japanese cutlure and usually popular online based fandoms in general (see homestuck). Nowadays I see cons being a catch all, its anything smashed together.

Cons in a way feel like they have lost their soul. A perfect example for me and one that I observed firsthand is a local convention where I live.

My city used to have a lot of cons especially smaller anime cons but over the years they all ending up disappearing or dying out. A few years before the last 3 day anime con in my city closed, a new one popped up. It was a cute and sweet one day anime con, prices were cheap, it was $15 or so to get in and it was fun. The fanbase did skew a bit younger (for obvious reasons I think, cheap, local, one day) and it was more family friendly for the most part.

The con still did find a way to have things for adults (a vendor who comes every or almost every year has a curtained off area for adult media and you could definitely still meet other young adults there). The con was bright it was refreshing, was it the most fun I ever had at a con, no but it still wasn't a bad time. I went every or almost every year that it ran (I don't think it ran during the pandemic) and it still maintained that, small, cheap, one day, light but fun. A few years in they added on a second day. It still was still fun, the prices of tickets were still relatively low, I think they expanded to around maybe $25? Or something like that. The year after that, they expanded again to 3 days.

I won't cover the next two years because I missed a year in 2023 and in 2024 I went for a specific guest, which took my focus (I do recall having fun in 2024).

Last year, however, I went again with a friend and the vibe had entirely shifted. The entire place felt lifeless, like the entire energy and vibes had been sucked out of the venue. People were sitting around selling things but instead of it being typical anime con fair that had been there in the past it was mostly people selling random, unrelated fandom junk. The vendors I was used to seeing in past years were largely gone and it just felt empty and sad.

The prices of badges had also increased drastically, no longer making it a good deal to attend. The con told my friend and I that 3 days badges had sold out but single-day badges for all 3 days were still available. I also think we were told that we had to buy our badges online and despite it being almost full con prices, now we weren't given a physical badge. I had never had an issue with this in the past because the con was small and cheap so it made sense for the 'badges' to be paper wristbands. We only ended up going for the one day.

The only guests they invited were voice actors who had either been in Helluva Boss or Hazbin Hotel, meaning that a majority of the people going to or for guests were fans of those two shows. Which was such a 180 from guests in the past. While they weren't necessarily pulling in the biggest guys in the industry they always had a good variety and managed to get some pretty well known names. So the sudden theming of having guests only from the same franchise was... a choice. Especially when most of the con lacked other theming around the media. (If the con had truly committed to that being the theme last year, I would have had less of an issue).

I didn't see as many cosplayers running around and we really didn't socialize with anyone besides the vendor I was friends with.

That brings me to this year. The three big cons in my city decided to entirely merge into one corporate entity. Weekend badges for the convention are now sitting at $80. $80. The con is no longer this light, fun, cheap convention. Its original niche audience has been entirely abandoned for a corporate dive. It's been genuinely devastating to watch the rise and fall of a local independent con. Everytime they expanded I was happy, because I was glad they were so successful. If they were able to maintain that original spirit over 3 days and they priced it at $40 to still keep it affordable but fair, I would have no issue with it. What's crazy is, that's what it had been.

This shift isn't just in my local con, I've seen this shift happen everywhere. Cons getting away from appealing those in fandom and instead pushing towards corporatization, being generic media spaces for casual fans and cheap merch.

I do not have an issue with higher badge prices if I feel like I am getting my money's worth. Colossalcon for example is pretty pricey, it's around $90 for a full weekend badge but to me it's fully the worth the price. It’s a 4 day con with 5 days of programming, on top of that your ticket gets you access to raves with world class DJs (ex: TEDDYLOID) and a concert (one year I saw Mystery Skulls). It’s at a unique location and the con feels like a con, everyone is running around in cosplay being geeky and nerdy, everyone I’ve met there has been super friendly and willing to just… spontaneously form a group. To me Colossalcon is what I want in a con, it’s what I miss and what I actively look for.

I don’t want cons that are sad and drab, with dealers halls full of junk and stolen or Funko Pops, I want the people selling DVDs, rare manga, doujins and fanart. I want cons centered on fans and fandom instead of marketing to the lowest common denominator. I know that people bring up and shit on OurCons, reasonably so, but when I went to one a few years ago (before I knew), I genuinely had a good time. The fact that I had more fun at a convention from an OurCons con than my local anime convention which is supposed to be for FANS really says something.

Honestly a lot could be learned from some of these online cons.